A woman needed rescuing by firefighters this morning after she climbed into a canal lock to save her dog.

The woman, who is believed to be in her 30s, was walking her pet collie beat the Grand Union canal near Aylestone when the dog fell into the water at Kings Lock.

Because of the steep sides of the canal, the dog was stuck in the water so the woman climbed down onto a ledge near to the lock gate and fished the dog out of the water and handed it up to a passer-by.

But she was unable to climb back out and had to be rescued by firefighters from Leicester’s Central Fire and Rescue Station, who were called at about 8.35am today.